Simple One Day Revitalizing Cleanse

"Motivate the mind; the body will follow"

Happy Monday Everyone!  With August coming to an end, I thought I would share my Simple One Day Revitalizing Cleanse because it has been my saving grace with all the traveling I have done this summer. 

When your energy is low, your stressed out, your anxiety levels are high, your unhappy with how you look which in return affects how you feel.... Your body is SCREAMING FOR A CLEANSE!

Cleansing can be intimidating.  The idea of not eating solid foods for days is frightening, I know.  Some people may even think it's stupid...  some may think all of this trendy juicing is just another fad.  While it is in fact "trendy" right now, juicing has been around for ages.  There are a lot of people who have been avid juicers for a very long time.  The thing is, the way food is designed in today's society (processed, chemically designed to last for years, loaded with sugar and salt... the list goes on and on.) We NEED to "clean out our pipes" from time to time and rid our bodies of all the harmful chemicals we feed it on a daily basis.

Cleansing is important because it purifies the body and the mind.  Think of a cleanse as a mini retreat.  It gives you the opportunity to step back and take a look at the things you're consuming because so much of what we put into our bodies, weighs us down.  Cleansing, fortunately can set us free from all of that!  What you eat, affects every single aspect of your life.  

So now, you may be wondering how to even get started.  It's important to be prepared when you are about to start a cleanse.  Here is a list of things to do before jumping into a cleanse: 

1. Make a list of your favorite recipes that you will use. 
2. Make a shopping list and purchase all the necessary fruits and veggies you will need. (I recommend going to the Farmers Market so you are not tempted by other foods at the grocery store) 
3. Ask a friend to join you.  I recently did a 3 day cleanse with two of my friends.  We all live in different cities but we would text each other throughout the day in a group message just to check in and see how we were all doing.  We would also send each other pictures of the juices we were drinking and share recipes. 
4. Let your family know.  If you have a spouse or live with other people, let them know that you are getting ready to do a cleanse.  It's important for them to support you.  The last thing you need is your husband going to town on a cheeseburger while your sitting in the same room sipping on a juice.  
5. Write down a list of 5 reasons you need to do a cleanse and keep it with you.  It's important to maintain a positive attitude.  In moments of weakness it's easy to give up and give in but if you stay strong, you will feel so empowered! 

The Simple One Day Revitalizing Cleanse was designed for when I  have too much of a good thing over the weekend.  Whenever I would come back from a trip, even if I tried to eat healthy, I would always feel bloated and out of shape upon returning.  Sometimes you just throw your hands up and say to yourself, "Enough!"  This cleanse is about devoting 24 hours to your health.  It gives you the chance to start over and clean everything out.  This cleanse can be used to ease yourself into another (longer) cleanse, or you can use it as a weekly routine maintenance, which is what I do.  Just think of how we take our cars for oil changes... we need to take care of our bodies the same way!

 With all that being said... Drum Roll Please! I now give you the step by step instructions for the

Simple One Day Revitalizing Cleanse. 

• Upon waking:  Sip on some Lemon Ginger water or just Lemon Water
• Breakfast:  20oz Green Juice (de-bloat recipe)
• One hour after to breakfast:  1 Cup of Detox Tea
• Snack:  8oz Green Juice with 12 almonds (de-bloat recipe)
• Lunch:  20oz Beet Juice (digestion recipe)
• One hour after lunch:  1 large glass of lemon water
• Snack:  1 Banana or 1 Avocado
• Dinner:  Either 1 fresh veggie juice or 1 fresh all natural soup.  You can make homemade veggie soups with your juicer.  (weight-loss recipe)
• Post Dinner:  1 Cup of Detox Tea 
• Take a Detox Bath  

To enhance your cleanse, make sure you get a good nights rest the night before you start and the night of.  Sweating will also assist getting those toxins out of your body.  If you can, you should squeeze in the time to either go to a hot yoga class or sit in a sauna.

Well, there you have it! I hope you enjoy this simple cleanse and that you take some time for YOU!  If you need recipes for anything mentioned in the list above, keep scrolling down! I have recipes for everything you will need! 

 Lemon Ginger Water: Juice two lemons and an inch of ginger, pour into an 8oz mason jar and add water until glass is full

Juice #1 Green Juice:  2  granny smiths apples, 5 kale leaves, 1 cucumber, 2 lemons,  2 celery stalk

Detox Tea:  I prefer the Yogi Brand.  I have purchased it at Smiths, Sprouts, and Whole Foods.  

Juice #2 Green Juice: 2 celery stalks, 2 kale leaves, 1 green bell pepper, 1 cucumber, 2 granny smith apples, a handful of spinach. 

Beet Juice:  3 Beets,  3 Oranges, 2 Carrots, 2 Lemons.

Veggie Juice:  A handful of parsley, 2 carrots, a handful of spinach, 2 tomatoes, 2 celery stalks, 1/2 cucumber, 1/3 green pepper.  

Veggie soup made with juicer:  2 cups of tomato juice, juiced with a juicer. Then add all other ingredients in a blender.... 4 tomatoes, 2 califlower florets, 1/2 cup of spinach, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 red pepper, 2 carrots, 1 sage leaf.  Blend in Blender until its pureed.  Then simmer in low heat for about 5 minutes.  Season with pepper... Not salt! 

Detox Bath recipe can be found by clicking here on this Total 3-Day Detox. 

If you want to see more recipe options click here on my Super Green Juice Detox or 50+ Juicing Recipes.  

If you have any additional questions feel free to leave a comment or send me a message via Facebook!

XoXo 

-Ashley

For Daily Tips and Recipes follow me on: 

Instagram: ashleynicolemora1 

Twitter: MissAshleyMoora 

Going the distance with Michael Dunn. A juicers journey to losing 90+lbs

Going the distance with Michael Dunn.  

A juicers journey to losing 90+lbs 

Hello!  Today I am sitting down with Michael Dunn, who after losing over 90lbs has gone on to complete his first 1/2 Iron distance triathlon (70.3 miles).  Michael is a single dad of two beautiful girls and participates in numerous races all year long.  His journey is nothing short of amazing and I am fortunate enough to get the inside scoop! 

Here is my interview with Michael 

Me: So Micheal, tell us when your journey began? 

MD: August 2011 after watching my father complete Pikes Peak Ascent which is the half marathon I thought it would be cool to run that race with him the following year. I was 90 pounds heavier than I am today and had absolutely NO running base. I could barely run from home plate to 1st base on the softball field. I wanted to get back in shape and just live a healthier life style and be a good role model to my daughters. My Dad and I decided to run the full marathon the following year which meant I had to run a full marathon elsewhere to qualify for pikes peak by March 1, 2012. That only gave me about 28 weeks to train and be able to complete a marathon THEN still go on to participate in pikes peak marathon after. Boy did I have my work cut out for me…..

This is where it all started.  This was me (on the right) back in 2011..

Me: Do you feel like it was more diet or exercise that contributed to your weight loss? 

MD: For the first few months I thought it was all exercise but later on learned that it is all about diet. You can exercise all you want but it you are not eating right you wont see the results you are looking for

Me: How many Races have you completed since changing your lifestyle in August of 2011? 

MD: Hmmm let see. I have never counted them! Triathlons-I have done two, 1/2 iron distance (70.3 miles), 1 olympic distance and a number of sprint distance. Running-I have done 7 marathons, 12 half marathons and a number 10ks & 5ks

This was at the finish line of my first marathon.

Me: What has been your most challenging race you have ran in? 

MD: Haha they are ALL challenging!! :) 5k-70.3 I never take any of them lightly. Pikes peak marathon is a tough race though. It climbs 8,000 feet and gets up 14,115 foot of elevation. Thats is twice the elevation gain as the La Luz trail on Sandia mountain as the Sandias “only” gain about 4,000 feet. Last year I did what is called the Pikes Peak Doubler. Its the half marathon Saturday and the full Marathon Sunday. You run to the top of pikes peak saturday and run to the top then turn around and run back down on sunday. That was a tough weekend! FUN but tough! :)

Me:  I always see your posts about running, how many miles a week do you usually run? 

MD: Oh my…. right now I am running about 35-40 miles per week

Me:  Besides running, do you do any other kind of exercising? 

MD: I am doing a lot of biking and swimming right now but I do like doing kettle bells, yoga and TONS of foam rolling! haha

Me: Let talk about your diet, I know you said when you first started running you dropped some weight and then plateaued.  What did you start doing to overcome that, and accomplish losing 90+lbs?

MD: Juicing and paleo!! Back when all of this started I changed my eating habits and started running. Within the first few months I dropped about 35 pounds and pretty much floated around there for about 2 years. For that 2 years went on a marathon and half marathon spree and kept running as many as i could. 4-5 full marathons during that time and 8 or so half marathons. I was still eating healthy (some what LOL) and running 40-45 miles per week with a couple times going over 50! I was getting plenty of exercise but was still not losing any more weight. February 2014 I ran Sedona marathon. I weighed 225 that day. I trained really hard to hit my time goal and just didn't get there. I was really bummed and knew i still needed to lose more weight and really focus on my diet if i was going to do so. The day after I got back I decided to try a 3 day juicing cleanse to jump start a change! I didn't know what specifically what my change was going to be but I had 3 days to come up with a plan to follow thru with once the cleans was over! I had been juicing randomly for about a year so i had a little experience with it but was never consistent with it. Honestly, I dreaded going 3 days with only drinking ALL day long and have a salad at night. I didn't think i could do it! I went to farmers market and bought everything needed for the 3 days and went on to do it. I was hooked by day 3 and knew what my change was going to be! From the day on I kept it up! I now juice all day every day :)

Me:  So you juice a lot! How many juices would you say you have each day?  

MD: yeah, I guess you could say that!! :) I drink 3 or 4 32oz mason jars of juice every day

Me:  What is your favorite juice recipe?  

MD: There are so many good recipes out there but I have 2 favorites right now:

1. 2 pears, 1 cucumber, 1/2 lemon and some kale

2. 3 carrots, 2 apples and a little ginger

When I make these I normally make these in batches of 5-8 though so multiply the above recipes  by 5-8, make a big pitcher then separate them all out in to mason jars. I LOVE pears!! I also love recipes with pineapples, berries & melons but with the amount I consume I try to stay away from that many sugars.

Me: And tell us, which juicer do you use and do you like it? 

MD: I have a stainless steel Jack Lalanne which works great! It has a big chute where most fruit fits in it with out needing to be cut up. Thats a must for me at my volume! Although I LOVE this juicer I am currently looking to getting another juicer. Masticating juicers process at much lower speeds and tend to get more juice out of "leafy" veggies along with many other benefits. Stay tuned for my selection!! :)

Me:  What are your personal pro’s and con’s of juicing? 

MD: Pro’s- 1. its healthy 2. I lost a lot of weight 3.I don’t feel bogged down and sluggish 3.My entire day worth of meals(except dinner) are prepared 2-3 days in advance so it saves time. 4.I have a TON of energy! 5.I get all the vitamins and minerals + some :)

       Con’s-I dont really see any Cons to doing it except for maybe the process. I go to the farmers market 2 times per week  because i can only fit 3 days or so of produce in my fridge. I go thru about 40-60 pounds per week. Twice a week i spend 30-45 minutes juicing the next 2-3 days worth of juice. I am use to it now and its totally worth it though

Me:  When you’re not juicing, what do you eat? 

MD: During the day if i get really hungry or i need more energy for training i will eat avocados or hard boiled eggs. At night i eat chicken, beef or fish along with salads. I juice during the day and paleo at night.

Me: Do you ever cheat?  And if so, what is your favorite cheat meal? 

MD: Haha sometimes shhhh!! :) I have a major sweet tooth so once in a while i have a sweet treat! As far as cheat meals I try to only have 1 a week at most. pizza, cheeseburgers yum!!

Me:  You look great!  Do you feel good?

MD: Thanks, Ashley! Yes I feel great!! My energy level is thru the roof now!! Going from a size 40 in some pants now down to a size 32 tends to boost your confidence a bit!! ;)

Me:  Now, I know you’re a single dad of 2.  How do you find the time to workout and eat healthy?

MD: I have no idea!! Lol! it is certainly tricky to balance work, kids, training all while still trying to stay healthy and avoid comfort foods :)

Me: How do you stay so disciplined? 

MD: It's much easier now than it was in the beginning. One big thing is trying to set a good example for my daughters and raise them up to not be where I was three years ago. It's a life style for me (us) now. This is not temporary. I never want to be out of shape again nor do I want my daughters that way either. It's a mindset. Everyday I strive to stay healthy and active. Getting over the change the first few weeks was tough but once you change your routine and mindset it's easy. 

Me: Losing & maintaining is far from easy, do you ever feel like giving up?

MD: Everyday! Haha Just kidding :) There are days that I just don't care and I fall off the wagon but not too often. 

Me: What motivates you to keep going?

MD: My daughters! Ashley did her first tri just a few weeks ago and Haylei is well on her way to doing her first as well! They want to follow their Dad and do these together which is so fun!  I also feed on my friends, family and other people who have followed my story and have encouraged me this entire way! I LOVE hearing of all the people that say that I have given them the hope, courage and motivation to make a healthy lifestyle change as well!

Me:  I know you’re training for an Iron Man. What goals/ plans do you have for the future?

MD: Yes, I am currently training for Ironman AZ 140.6 miles on November 16, 2014. I'm not sure what I will do after that. I love the sport and will continue to do them as long as my body will let me! Who knows, maybe I will find a special lady friend to do these with me!!  ;)

Me:  What is your message to those who might be in same place you were 3 years ago  who are intimated to start their journey? 

MD: Don't be scared. Go out of your comfort zone. Set a goal and just do it. 

You will feel amazing!

You can follow Michael on Instagram and Twitter at abqdunn.  

Thank you Michael for sharing your story with us! Looking forward to hearing from you again.  Wishing you all the best of luck in every aspect of life! We know you will do amazing things! 

What is crossfit? Interview with sponsored athlete, Jamie Trainor

Let’s face it… crossfit is EVERYWHERE!  The crossfit games are on ESPN and it’s talked about in almost every fitness magazine. I’m sure at one point or another you have heard someone talking about crossfit.  There are crossfit gyms popping up everywhere and chances are, you probably have a close friend or family member who is constantly talking about their WOD.  For those of us wondering, “What exactly is crossfit ?” We have you covered!  Today we are sitting down with sponsored athlete Jamie Trainor, who trains at CROSSFIT ABQ, to give us all in the in’s and out’s of this fitness trend that has captured the hearts of millions across the country.  

Sponsored Athlete, Jamie Trainor

  Me: Jamie, it seems like a lot of people have started crossfit.  Can you tell us what crossfit is exactly? 

Jamie:
CrossFit is a premier strength and conditioning program defined as ““constantly varied, high-intensity, functional movement.”  What does this all mean? We believe that the most efficient way to create elite fitness is by keeping workouts short so the intensity level can remain at a peak, and always varying the movements in workouts. Routine is the enemy.  Essentially CrossFIt is the “sport of fitness”. Workouts are always timed and recorded so that the competitive environment drives the intensity level to a point that can not be attained in other workout settings. CrossFit is a mix of Olympic Weightlifting, technical gymnastics, and a variation of cardiovascular movements like running or rowing. 

The goal with CrossFit is to optimize physical competence in each of ten recognized fitness domains. They are Cardiovascular and Respiratory endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Power, Speed, Coordination, Agility, Balance, and Accuracy. We believe that when growth happens in these domains an individual becomes a better overall athlete. CrossFit is not just for athletes, in fact it was designed to enhance an individual’s competency at all physical tasks, whether that is taking out the trash or being able to pick up your baby and carry it without becoming fatigued or injured. We believe in functional fitness, functional by means of being tangible to everyday life activities. CrossFit is also the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

Me: Wow! That's interesting, I definitely didn't know all of that.  I hear people talking about wods?  Can you tell us what a wod is? 

 Jamie:

WOD stands for workout of the day. Workouts are usually 5-10 minutes long so that the intensity level can be maintained throughout the entire workout. There are a few different types of WOD’s that you may run across, first is the AMRAP this stands for “as many rounds or reps as possible”. For example it could be a 12 minute AMRAP of 10 pull-ups, 10 burpees, 10 powercleans. The idea is to go as hard as you can for the entire twelve minutes to attain the most reps possible. Your score might look something like 7+6, that means you completed 7 full rounds and 6 pull-ups. The second type of workout you might run into is RFT, this stands for rounds for time. In this particular workout you will be given a set workload and your job is to complete the work as fast as possible. For example, the workout may be 4 RFT of 3 muscle ups, 6 hand stand push-ups, 9 power snatches. Your score would be the time is takes you to complete. A good time would be around 4-6 minutes. The third and most infamous WOD style is the dreaded 21-15-9. One of the most famous CrossFit wod's is called “Fran”, and she is an absolute bitch. In this you will complete 21 thrusters & then 21 pullups, 15 thrusters & then 15 pullups, and finally 9 thrusters & then 9 pullups.  A good time for this is under three minutes. This is the worst three minutes a CrossFitter will ever experience.  While we do keep our workouts constantly varied, we do have what are called our benchmark workouts like “Fran”. These workouts are done every six months or so and are used to gauge how much the athletes overall fitness has improved. 

Me:  Okay, that sounds REALLY intense.  Crossfit can seem pretty intimidating as it is, what is your advice for those who think they wont be able to keep up?  

Jamie: 

My advice to those who are intimidated would be to jump in with an open and positive mindset. Some days in the gym are far better than others, sometimes you take 30 minutes to finish the workout sometimes you take 3, all that matters is that you finished. When you do your first WOD class you will see that the group is there to encourage others, often times coaches will make it a rule that you must cheer on the whole group until every last athlete is finished.  Also I would find a gym that fits your style. Obviously the community is different in each and every gym.  Take the time to find a gym that fits you.  Some gyms are more aimed towards competitive athletes, some are targeted towards every day people just trying to live a healthier life. You have to find the right gym, when you do you will find that the community will become some of the biggest supporters you have in your life. 

We are all here for different reasons, but the community aspect should be priority number one. I also recommend signing up for a foundations program if your new box offers it.  The foundations program usually lasts about 4-6 weeks and it's entirely new crossfitters. It goes at a slower pace and teaches you to do all the movements both safely and efficiently. Definitely a great way to “break the ice” of getting in the crossfit world.

Me:  Can people use crossfit as a way to lose weight? 

Jamie:

Of course they can! And I would say about 90% of people walk into a crossfit gym trying to lose weight. But you have to keep in mind that it takes time and dedication to lose weight. Nutrition is going to be a huge part of your journey in weight loss. It is hard to outwork a poor diet. If you eat clean food and do 5 WOD classes a week than you will more than likely lose weight! However of the 90% of people that are interested in losing weight, their focus generally switches toward being healthy instead. 

What I mean by that is, by stepping on a scale you really learn close to nothing (the numbers don't mean anything, its how you look and feel) It's more about how your clothes fit or how you look at yourself when you look in the mirror.  It's about being confident in yourself and loving who you are on the inside and out. It's so much deeper than the scale, many times people first start to notice they aren’t losing weight, but they are looking so much better, or their clothes fit so much more perfectly, that’s because your building muscle and muscle weighs more than fat, you may be able to fit into those old jeans but you have only lost 5 pounds on the scale. Don’t be discouraged, in fact I discourage most people to even step on a scale at all!

Me:  What is a typical crossfit class like and how long are they? 

Jamie: 

A typical crossfit class is only an hour long. Usually less than 10 people with one or two coaches. The class usually consists of a “light” warm-up, followed by a skill or strength session , finishing off with a WOD usually less than 20 minutes long. Sometimes you may even stretch for twenty minutes, but don’t be fooled stretching is just as important as every other physical aspect of fitness. The class is always upbeat and exciting with everyone encouraging and cheering you on as you finish the workout. The music is blasting and its you against yourself, except you have the whole class that wants you to succeed just as bad as you want it for yourself. You will find that you get so much more done in an hour at a Crossfit gym than any hour you ever spent in another gym. 

Me:  I know a few people who do crossfit and they follow the paleo diet.  Do you have to follow paleo if you are doing crossfit? 

Jamie: 

The paleo diet is the best diet in my opinion for individuals who are strictly focused on losing weight. However being a competitive athlete, it is hard to consume enough calories with paleo. For me its more about just trying to get enough food in my body each day, especially recently as I've been put on a squat cycle to improve my Olympic lifts. I try to eat the paleo approach as far as the cleanliness of the foods I eat, but I do tend to eat a lot of bread and unnecesarry carbs. In my opinion your fitness should not keep you from eating the foods you enjoy, I'm not saying eat pizza and breadsticks every meal but if you cheat a few times a week you shouldn’t beat yourself up over it.

Me:  What got you into crossfit? 

Jamie:

My whole life I had mostly been in or around the gym community, but it was always at a global gym, and it was so boring. I dreaded going to the & gym running on a treadmill with no purpose or curling dumbells for 3 sets of 10. One day I was at the gym and I noticed a guy doing some very different workouts and I asked him what he was doing and it turned out he was a coach at a local box. I went to my first class and haven't stopped going since. I was hooked to the competitive nature of the sport. I was so intrigued, I would spend hours and hours watching crossfit videos trying to learn everything I possibly could that could help me become a better athlete. I felt as though it filled a missing part of my life. My first workout was a couplet AMRAP of wall balls and snatches. I couldn’t believe how out of shape I truly was. Everyday was a new challenge and it never got an easier, but I got better and I became more conditioned and all I wanted to do was be the best crossfitter on the planet. Luckily my first coach happened to go to the reebok crossfit games that year and she gave me motivation to really engulf myself in the competitive side of the sport.  From the second I walked into that box, I felt at home and I never looked back!

Me:  You seem so passionate about it!  Why do you love it so much? 

Jamie: 

I love crossfit because it gives me a purpose and direction in life, of which I was missing for so many years. For years growing up in high school, I struggled with severe drug addiction and completely destroyed my life. My body was abused everyday as well as my mind. I was slowly killing myself each and every day, now I am more alive than ever and I'm truly humbled by everything crossfit has done in my life. It gives me new goals and dreams that I strive to achieve everyday, sometimes you fail & sometimes you win, but all that matters is each and every day I leave the gym with that same fire burning inside. 

Me:  That is so amazing! What have been some of your crossfit accomplishments?

Jamie: 

EmbraceFit sponsored athlete

      - 4^th place “Fittest of the SouthWest” 2014

      - 2^nd place Boxtoberfest 2013

      - 4^th place pre-regional competition Crossfit Carbondale 2013

      - 16^th “Battle at the Rock” Castle Rock CrossFit

      -Top 12% finisher in the world wide open

The overall goal for me is to make it to the Southwest Regional and hopefully qualify for the Reebok CrossFit games in the next 4 years. I have also registered for the BarnYard Brawl here in town in August, and the Raid Games in Miami in September.

Me:  That is very impressive! Last but not least, tell us a little bit about where you train? 

Jamie: 

I recently switched to CrossFit ABQ when I first met my sponsor at my last competition in El Paso.  I moved there because the history of competitive success is unrivaled in the state. My coach Ben Abruzo is an incredible programmer, he even had a team podium at the CrossFit Games in 2011. I love this new gym and it's doing wonders for my weaknesses as an athlete. I get to train with 2 badass individual regional competitors AJ Bales and Whitney Cappelucci  multiple times a week as well as tons of other amazing competitors like Matt Booth and Joe Vigil. I look up to them and I learn so much from their training and I'm very fortunate to get to have the opportunity to train with them. 

  Well, there you have it!  Crossfit 101 for those of who didn't know a thing about it! Thank you Jamie sharing all this information with us! And for also sharing part of your story! You are inspiration to all of us and I know we will be seeing great things from you! 

Crossfit Couple Jamie & Shelby 

Alei's Incredible Journey To Losing 30+lbs

Hi everyone! For those of you who don’t know who I am, my name is Alei, and this is a little insight on my health and fitness journey and how I have come to lose 30+ pounds.

When I was young, I was never very active. I was born with chronic asthma and had battled it throughout my child hood. I could never really play typical sports with my condition, so the one sport I was able to fall in love with was golf, which I played through middle school and high school.

Growing up, I always had problems with my weight. I always just told myself “Oh, it’s okay its genetics”, or “As long as I’m happy that’s all that matters!” But the truth is, it was always a problem for me. I was never bullied or made fun of; in fact I enjoyed High School and made a lot of friends in the small town I grew up in. But it was hard for me to accept the reality of just being “bigger” than my friends.

When I went off to college, everything just went downhill. I started partying all the time and drinking heavy and in what seemed like overnight, the “freshman 15” turned into the “freshman 25”. After going to a University for 2 years, I decided to come back home where my parents live to finish my Bachelor’s degree.

At my heaviest, I was 210 pounds. (Yep, I still want to cry when I hear that number!) It wasn’t until I looked back at my college pictures, that I realized how heavy I had gotten, and how out of control my weight really was.

Naturally, to anyone who doesn’t work out, a gym can be a very intimidating place. I had a friend that was a member of a gym in town and she told me she would take me in to sign up for a membership, and I can honestly say that it was that day that changed my life.

I ended up getting a personal trainer who taught me a lot about the machines and a lot of “beginner” exercises for different muscle groups. After a year trying to figure out different fitness routines and dieting tricks, I had only lost about 10 pounds. So I knew I had to find something different. 

I had multiple friends who had been on fitness programs with, who is now my trainer and coach. I knew he was tough and that his plans worked but I didn’t really know the extent of what he did until I met with him. Finding out later that he is a competitive bodybuilding coach and competitor, I was shocked! I had never really thought about this type of industry nor knew anything about it. But I was excited to see what kind of results was going to come out of this type of training.

After being on his program for just a few weeks, I could see the pounds dropping and I was ecstatic! The best part was that I was able to meet and become friends so many different people who were also training with him. We are essentially on a “team” full of competitors and non-competitors. We all just connect through social media and share our stories and lives with each other and honestly, it is the biggest support system I have ever had.

It has now been almost 6 months since I joined the team, and I can’t say enough how much it has changed my life. I am 33 pounds down with the goal of losing 20 more. I have the best coach and best teammates supporting me on a daily basis.

So, to anybody intimidated to begin their weight loss journey, DON’T BE! It will be the most rewarding and humble experience you will ever go through. Surround yourself with people who have similar stories and who you know will support what you’re doing. Whether you want to compete, or just reach a simple weight goal, all I can say is stop thinking about it, and just get out there, get out of your comfort zone and do it! You won’t regret it!!

I hope you enjoyed my story, and thank you Ashley for allowing me to be a part of such an inspiring page! If you’d like to see more of my journey, or even share yours with me, you can follow me on Instagram at aoconnell91.

Xoxo, 

Alei. 

How I Lost 20 lbs & Gained a New Lifestyle

How I Lost 20 Pounds and Gained a New Lifestyle

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Katie and this is how I lost 20 pounds and went on to compete in my first fitness competition.

Up until college I had always been active and able to eat pretty much whatever I wanted. Once I got to college my whole lifestyle changed. I partied at least 3-4 times a week, started smoking cigarettes (ew, I know), only occasionally worked out (but kept eating what I wanted), and had a horrible diet that contained a lot of late night McDonald’s runs. I had a lot of fun in college but after gaining 12 pounds and having such poor health I realized I wasn’t happy anymore. This started my weight loss journey.

 I knew that I wanted to lose weight but I also wanted a new lifestyle that I could maintain and for that reason I didn’t take any weird diet pills, go super low carb, join Jenny Craig, whatever. I quit smoking because you can’t exercise when you can hardly breathe. Then I started to learn as much as I could about nutrition and I incorporated nutritious foods into my diet. I also minimized eating out because it’s easier to make cleaner food options at home and I cut out the binge drinking (obviously).  I started exercising at least 5-6 times a week (weight lifting and cardio mix). Last, I found new things that I enjoyed like clean baking and lifting weights. If you enjoy what you’re doing then the weight loss is all that much easier.

After losing 16 pounds on my own, I made the decision to compete in my first fitness competition as a bikini competitor. Through clean eating, heavy lifting, cardio, and lots of coaching from my Fitshop coach, Jenny, I lost 4 more pounds and stepped on stage. I wanted to compete to win but mostly I wanted to compete to show off what I had worked so hard for. Ask me a year earlier and I would have never been caught dead in a tiny red bikini ESPECIALLY on stage but the new me was happy, healthy, and proud in her own skin. I loved competing and being confident on stage and I found out that this was something I wanted to keep doing!

I’m not going to sugar coat it, losing weight and completely changing your lifestyle isn’t the easiest thing to do. But it can be done and it gets easier. Besides working out on my own I would sometimes see a trainer, Marisa. She would watch me get discouraged because I didn’t see the scale go down in a week and she always told me to keep going, never give up and never lose patience. Keep working and it will pay off! You might not see changes every day but if you give up then you won’t ever see those changes. It was also difficult for me to find balance with food. This was something that I struggled with up until very recently. I realized that you have to find balance and moderation. Eat healthy, work hard, but go enjoy ice cream with your friends once in awhile. Find that balance in your life to where you enjoy every minute of it. One ice cream cone won’t make you fat and it’s good for your mental health so go enjoy every bite. The next morning wake up, eat a healthy breakfast, and go get a good workout in. It really is all about balance and moderation because that leads you to a healthy LIFESTYLE, not just quick weight loss.

What kept me motivated throughout this journey was my drive to be better. If you’ve always wanted to be a bikini competitor then go do it! Only you can make those dreams come true through hard work and persistence. I’m lucky I had a lot of support but I also kept myself motivated by knowing what my goals were and how I wanted to achieve them. Very often I write my goals down so I can see them, I keep my trophy’s up from my first competition to remind me that I want to come back better next time, and I keep going, pushing myself to be my best self. Having visual goals helps to keep you motivated whether it’s to lose weight, step on stage, compete in a marathon, whatever it may be. You can do anything you set your mind to so keep going.

All of this is about finding YOUR happiness and being YOUR best self. Never forget why you started! I hope you enjoyed my featured blog! You can follow me on twitter and Instagram at katielynn_xo. Looking forward to chatting with you again soon!

Xoxo,

Katie